Surprises
by What's up dawwwgg
Summary: Thomas is an agent, and wants to share blue-pill holidays with Agent Smith, Jones, and Brown. Will everything go as planned or will he encounter problems along the way?


**It was a chill late November morning in the Matrix.**

Snow covered every inch of the ground, seeming to infect the dense city. Children around the area loved it. Yet a certain group of individuals felt otherwise. Except for one.

Thomas Anderson awoke to that familiar bright light outside his window, the one that only appears under certain times of the year. He got out of bed, and went to peek outside of the window.

"Woah," Anderson muttered aloud, seeing the fresh sheets of white coating the ground 50 feet beneath him. _I better get dressed then. The others will be expecting me soon. _He thought, retreating from the windowsill.

Quickly, Thomas got dressed, putting on his suit, tie, and of course, his ear piece. Although he hated the thing, it was required. He wandered out of his quaint room, into the regular white office space. On first glace, one would think it was a waiting room, but no, it was his and the other agent's living space.

Almost as if on cue, Smith, Jones, and Brown came out of their own rooms. They all greeted each other, Thomas being more enthusiastic than the rest about their daily routine.

"Good morning!" is what he'd always say every morning. Considering the current events outside and the time of year, Anderson was more jovial than usual, having set plans to decorate the office.

"So, anything planned so far today Smith?" Thomas inquired, wanting to have a good start on today's activities. Smith was always the one to get news of any rebels acting up in the area. Although he, Jones, and Brown were told on the occasion, Smith was mostly the one told about everything.

"There are rebels trying to convert more to their side in the center of the city," Smith stated flatly, grabbing his gun and placing it neatly into his coat-pocket, "there will be plenty of ice and snow everywhere. Watch your step Anderson."

The snow hadn't stopped since the night prior, and it didn't show any signs of stopping now.

The agents were seated comfortably in their black Ford Falcon, listening to "festive music" per Thomas' choice. There wasn't much talk that went on between any of them. Even with the radio on, the car felt silent.

"Sooo," Thomas trailed on, "what's your opinions on the snow?"

Both Brown and Jones looked towards Thomas, sat next to them in the backseat.

"I do not mind it. Although it can be a struggle to get around in it." Brown replied back after a minute or two of thought. Jones soon after nodded his head in agreement, "it gets everywhere. It's a real struggle trying to not mess up the floor."

"Yeah.." Thomas gazed out the window, looking out on the busy city, "it does make everything look pretty though."

A few minutes later, the car stopped. Brown and Jones split up together to catch a few rebels while Smith and Thomas patrolled the area. While walking around, an overwhelming amount of lights caught his eye, the inside of the building looked cozy, having warm colors strewn everywhere. It was a department store.

Forgetting about the mission, Thomas wondered in, captivated by all of the lights and Christmas décor displayed about the store.

He wasn't planning on buying anything, but made a mental note to return to the place later tonight, when the rest were asleep.

"Anderson," Smith snapped Thomas about of his "Christmas trance", "what are you doing?"

Clearly being caught off guard, he took a few seconds to regain his composure.

"I thought I saw something. Turns out I was wrong. Sorry." He lied, strolling out of the store, with Smith close by his side.

As always, it was taking Jones and Brown a while, so he decided to go on a stroll with Smith.

Snow sprinkled on their faces, clothes, everything they had visible to the public eye. Being agents, it was quite hard to get cold, so none of them wore scarves or gloves. It may help to blend in with the city population, but wearing extra articles of clothing sure as hell is uncomfortable for anyone.

"It sure is nice out today, don't ya' think?" Thomas turned to Smith, a smile forming on his face as he did so.

"Indeed."

Smith isn't very enthusiastic about anything, but he is good company. He was to Thomas at least, Brown and Jones made conversation more often, but Thomas always had a "soft spot" for Smith.

Thomas looked to the sky for as long as he could, before it became hard to see through his sunglasses. He sighed, wishing for more calm moments like this. Before his life as an agent, when he was a red-pill himself, he thought he'd found his purpose in life, but sooner or later, he began to feel empty, and began to wish he'd accepted Smith's offer in the beginning. So, he went back and did. It had been only a few months ago actually, this would be his first Christmas in the agency. Even though they didn't celebrate, he still felt like he should share the blue-pill holiday with them.

He and Smith kept walking together in silence for what seemed like forever, taking in the scenery, occasionally looking for red-pills, but mostly wandering about together in the snow.

The cold was starting to get to him. He moved a bit closer to Smith, in an attempt to regain some warmth. Although he soon realized it wasn't working.

"H-hey Smith," Thomas chattered from the cold, "do you think we could return to the car sometime soon?" They paused on the street. "I'm starting to get a bit.. Cold." he finished, looking to Smith for a response.

"Only when Brown and Jones return. They could need assistance." Smith continued walking, Thomas nodded, and began to walk along with Smith again.

_God, they sure are taking forever. _He thought to himself.

From around the corner, he could see Brown, leaning onto Jones, sharing his jacket. The cold had gotten to them too apparently. Thomas jogged towards them, "Did you find them?" he inquired, trying to hide his excitement. Jones' face shifted from a slight smirk, to a frown, "No," he leaned forward, Brown following him, "they got away. There was too much snow to run after them."

"Oh." Thomas reached into his pockets, walking back towards Smith, to go home.

The drive home was similarly silent, as if they were back in time to earlier. The only difference was that they were all cold. Brown was still leaning into Jones, he was affected the most by the cold.

_Today wasn't the best, but surely tonight will be better, Right? _Thomas had something planned to lift their spirits.

As usual, Thomas drank some hot chocolate when they returned. He never really liked the bitter taste of coffee, even with sweeteners. If one had only just been given a description of him and how he acts, they'd assume he was a child. Well, compared to his colleagues at least.

Brown and Jones seemed a lot closer than usual, even when they were out of the cold. He started to let his mind wander about what they could've been doing. Maybe they led a secret life? _No, _he thought, _that's just stupid. Jones definitely doesn't seem like the type of guy to do that. _He scrapped the thought for now. They were closer than they had ever been before though, Brown leaning on Jones' shoulder, seeming to loose himself in his thoughts. In it's own weird way, it was actually kind of sweet. But there were other matters at hand. Those being the plan.

Agents don't drink, but since they're designed to be like humans, they're able to get tipsy. So, he spiked their drinks with just enough alcohol to get them wanting to sleep the night away.

Soon enough, Brown yawned, and the Jones, and then Smith.

Brown grunted, and motioned for Jones to follow him to his room. Which was odd, but at the time Thomas took no notice to it, and was glad that his plan was working out for him! He only had to wait until Smith gave in to his needs.

**2:00 am **

It had been 4 hours since Brown and Jones went to bed when Smith turned in for the night. He yawned, and waved towards Thomas, signaling that he was done for the night, suggesting that he should go to bed too. But Thomas had other plans..

He snuck out as soon as he was sure everyone was asleep.

He hadn't expected for it to be this cold, otherwise he would've brought a bigger jacket. He was already on his way to the little shop he found earlier though, he was a "man in motion", there was no stopping him on this cold November night.

On the way, he saw a few familiar faces roaming the streets and in store windows. He saw the Twins, they were dining on a fancy meal, in what he could only assume to be the fanciest restaurant in the area. He saw the other crew of agents, Johnson, Jackson, and Thompson, patrolling the streets. His crew roamed during the day, while they took care of the night shifts. The last person he recognized really struck a cord with him. It was Trinity. She was on the rooftops, looking out for the agents. He caught her gaze, which stunned her for a moment. She looked confused... and.. sad, before scurrying off like a squirrel running out of the way of an oncoming car. He still liked Trinity, but he knew it just wouldn't work the way that it used to. She was his enemy now, and he was hers. 

For the most part, Thomas didn't have any regrets. He loves his life as an agent, but there are the moments when he misses Trinity and the rest of the crew aboard the Neb.

Trying to not dwell on his past, he moved on to find his destination. It looked a lot better at night than it did during the day. The lights shown across the street onto the next building, which looked significantly worse in comparison to this store. From what Thomas could see, it didn't have a name, the logo was covered in snow. Not wanting to waste any time, he walked inside of the seemingly cozy store.

Classic Christmas songs were playing over the speakers in the store, making Thomas feel a little more "at home".

_ So.. What's the most important things on my list? _He looked around the store, seeing the millions of decorations covering the walls, with a mossy colored green tree catching his eye. Although it was fake, it was more than enough for him and his partners. Now all he needed was decorations.. Wanting to keep up his "aesthetic" of a classic Christmas, he found 4 stockings, one for himself and one for each of what he considered to be his friends, a multitude of ornaments, silver garland, and blue, yellow, green, and red strands of lights for his, _**their**_**, **tree.

The only problem was that he didn't have any money. He had the stuff, but no cash. This is where Thomas' favorite part of being above the law comes in, he can just manipulate the Matrix so he can have the perfect amount of money.

Thomas made his way towards the cashier, with some pep in his step.

"Hello sir! It's a little late for you to be out tonight, isn't it?" The woman behind the counter politely asked him.

"I assume so, but hey, can't beat not quite last minute shopping!" he shrugged, "With 25 days until Christmas, I might as well!"

"I guess so! You're really the only person whose been this excited about the holidays lately, everyone else seems too busy with their own lives to think about sharing moments and memories with others." the woman slouched a bit behind the register. "Anyways though! Here's your stuff, I hope you can have a good rest of your night tonight!"

Thomas took his things, and walked out of the store. Only to stop for a moment, and think for a second. Even if Christmas is 25 days away, he has to get them gifts! So, another plan spawned in his mind. Somehow, he needs to trick the others into buying things for each other. For the time being though, he had to get home!

Thomas hurriedly got back home. Once he got back into their living space, he decided to save his plan from tonight to Christmas Eve, to make the surprise even better. For now though, he had to find some where to hide his things. Where in this building does no one go?

He sat there for a few minutes, thinking about where no one would dare to go, when it dawned on him. _I could just hide it in my closet! _

No one ever goes in his room, honestly it's quite sad, but an agent needs no love life! Well, the need part is right, but not the want. Agents may want a love life, but that's a whole different can of worms Thomas was not going to open. At least not tonight.

He stashed the goods, and retreated into his comfy bed on this borderline freezing practically December night.

Thomas awoke to someone knocking on his bedroom door. _Ugh, how long did I sleep for? _He glanced at the clock. 10:00 am.

"_**Damn**_!" Thomas exclaimed, bursting out of his bed, quickly getting dressed. He finally opened his door to find an amused Smith.

"Anderson, did you do something to my drink last night?" He bombarded him with questions with a similar manner before it finally clicked in his brain.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm sorry, I must've given everyone the wrong drink last night.." Thomas shifted in his door-frame, "I promise you Smith that I wont do it again. One time mistake."

Smith grunted in response and moved out of his way.

Jones and Brown didn't seem to be awake yet either.

"So uh.. Are they asleep too?" Thomas gestured towards Brown's bedroom.

"I assume so. Neither of them have come out last night nor this morning." Smith responded, sitting down at his usual spot at the table.

He didn't want to push it, but decided he should at least ask about it.

"Have they ever been like this before?" He sat down next to Smith, putting most of his body weight onto the table.

Smith sat in deep thought for a moment, trying to scan any other instance of this happening between the two. "I don't think so. Brown is just cold. Agents do not need love or affection." He replied flatly, as usual.

"Well, we may not _NEED _it, but that doesn't guarantee that we don't want it." Thomas added, semi afraid of Smith's response.

Smith grunted. He got up out of his chair and went to get a cup of coffee.

_Well.. Time to find an opportunity to initiate part 2 of my plan! _Thomas thought to himself. He got up and briskly walked over to Brown's door, gently knocking on it once he got next to it. He could hear the mattress screaming in pain from the both of them getting out of bed. Assuming that they both got dressed in the same room and didn't wear what they wore last night, the both of them came out. It had since warmed up in the building, but Brown was still clinging onto Jones. Maybe Brown is interested in Jones..

As usual, the car ride was silent, holiday tunes playing on the now December day.

Wanting to get his plan going as soon as possible, Thomas asked Jones and Brown about things they'd like.

"Things I'd like?" Brown asked, not fully understanding the question.

"Yeah! Like you know, gifts, things you'd just like to have.." He continued, hoping Brown would this time understand.

"Maybe a scarf? It is getting colder lately.." Brown responded.

_Yes! _Thomas thought to himself, _one gift down, only two more to go. _

"Well, How about you Jones? Anything you'd like to have?" Brown asked for him.

Jones bit his lip for a minute, staring at his shoes. "Boots. Walking through snow is a pain."

_Now one more! What would Smith want...? _

As it was yesterday, Jones and Brown went out looking for red-pills while he and Smith walked around the city.

"Smith, is there anything you really want in life? Like a gift or something?" Thomas got straight to the point, as Smith would do to him if he had something he was dying to ask or tell him about.

"No. There's nothing I desire, I believe I have anything an agent could ever need." He stared straight ahead of him as they walked and as he answered the question.

_That seems like all I'll ever pry out of him.. What does he already have that I could give him?_

A few minutes later they heard a scream. It sounded familiar, despite him never hearing it before. Then came gunshots, and yelling from what sounded like Jones.

That's when it hit him.

"Smith," he started, but Smith was way ahead of him, literally and figuratively, he was running towards the voices and gunfire. Thomas followed, to find a bleeding rebel, an injured Brown, and a clearly pissed off beyond human belief Jones.

Before we knew it, Jones was beating the living snot out of this rebel kid. In the time that I'd known him, I've never seen Jones this mad. Maybe he and Brown do have a thing.. He wouldn't do this me or Smith, well maybe Smith, but not for me that's for damn sure.

The man seemed dead. Jones finally gave up, and hurried back to Brown.

"Are you ok?" He asked urgently, not hiding the concern in his voice.

"Yeah.. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Brown struggled to respond through his gritted teeth.

"Let's get home. Johnson and his crew and handle any further business." Smith finished for them, heading back to the car.

The ride home was tense, Brown was in pain, Jones was not in a good mood, and Smith seemed more stressed out than usual.

It seems like we may be staying in more often this month.. Hopefully, it doesn't get in the way of my plans.

When we got back, Jones helped Brown out of the shadowy car, leading him into the building we call home.

He sat Brown down, and Smith examined him.

"His leg seems to be broken." Smith looked to both of us, but mostly directing attention towards Jones, who was the most affected by this event. He cursed under his breath, turning to sit down next to and comfort Brown.

"Smith," Thomas starts, concern in his voice, "I know Brown will be ok, but what about the missions? We can't have Johnson do them all."

"We don't have a choice," Smith puts both of his hands on each of Thomas' shoulders, "for now, until Brown gets better, it's either they take our position for now, or we leave Brown to suffer." Smith moves away, heading towards his room to call Johnson.

_Things definitely aren't going as planned.. I still don't know what Smith wants, and I'm not allowed to sneak off for now. _

_**December 19th**_

It's been two and a half weeks since Brown broke his leg, although it is no where close to healing completely, Smith has accepted that we should probably resume our duties. So far, Jones is and has been refusing to leave Brown alone.

"Good morning Smith," Thomas yawns as he walks out of his room, "anything new going on with Jones and Brown? They've been alone in his room for some time now.. Kinda starting to miss them, you know?"

Smith shifts in his seat, holding his cup of coffee close to his face, but not attempting to drink it quite yet.

"Smith?" Thomas moves closer to him, "I know you've been stressed out lately man, but don't gaze off into space like a mad-man."

Smith sighs, placing his cup on the table and placing his hands on his head, pushing back his hairline.

Thomas moves behind him and rubs his back in an attempt to help him relieve some stress that he has.

Later on that night, Thomas is laying in his bed, thinking about what he should do.

_Brown wants a scarf, Jones wants boots for the snow, and Smith doesn't want anything because he already has everything he wants. Christmas is six days away, and I still have no idea what Smith wants. What does he already have... _Thomas sat there for what felt like ages when he finally thought of something, _Us! He has us! I could give him a photo of all of us together! But.. How could I do that.. I could maybe take a photo of them for a mission! I'd just have to make one up.. _

Thomas grabbed his old Polaroid camera from his closet, it was the first thing he'd ever gotten from the agency. Maybe instead of using it on a mission, he could take a photo for his close to first year of being an agent!

_My plan will be in motion tomorrow morning then! But first, sleep is very much needed. _Thomas thought, before drifting off to his down personal dream land.

Thomas yawned as usual when he got up, and looked out side below him at the busy white covered street. Déjà vu huh? He got dressed, putting on his suit, his sunglasses, and the earpiece he hated so.

As it was before Brown broke his leg, Thomas was up first, and Smith was second. Brown and Jones mostly have slept in since the incident.

"Smith, since it's been almost a year of me being an agent do you think I could.. Take a photo of us all together?" Thomas nervously asked.

Smith stared at him for a moment, before responding, "Ok. I'll wake up Brown and Jones. Do not screw this up." as always, he finished his sentence in a flat, but this time semi menacing tone.

_I can't believe that worked.._

Brown and Jones sat up next to each other, Brown leaning on him for support. Smith sat in between me and Jones. I set up my Polaroid on a tripod I acquired.

5..

4..

3..

2..

1.

Flash, Flash, Snap.

_That was quite easy, _Thomas thought, _it's actually quite a good picture too. _

Smith felt like they should congratulate him for being an agent, so for the better half of the night, they all drank, talked, and mostly had a good time for the first time in a while. Agents don't usually get drunk, but Jones and Brown didn't seem to care that night. They both got borderline black-out drunk, and I could've sworn they pecked each-other on the lips. Maybe agents can feel love.

Thomas restrained himself from drinking so he could sneak out to buy things he needed, there were now 5 days until Christmas. If he didn't leave now, there wouldn't be anything left.

The only problem was that Smith was also drunk.

"Anderson.. Stay.. You've barely had anything to drink.." his speech is slurred, tonight sure is weird, Smith would never drink this much. He doesn't seem to handle his alcohol very well, considering his unusual and now semi-flirty nature.

"Smith-" He cuts me off, pulling me uncomfortably close to him, locking me into a choke-hold like hug. I twist around, and try to at least make him hug me correctly.

Smith firmly believes there shouldn't be romance in the work-place. Especially not between him and someone else. He keeps pulling me closer. Now that I'm here, I find myself not really minding this.

"I luhv yu.." Smith slurs before drifting off to sleep on the leathery couch.

Thomas stays intertwined with Smith until the morning comes. Maybe pushing off plans until tomorrow isn't so bad?

Thomas awoke to Smith shifting around in his sleep, before Smith himself woke up.

"wh- Anderson? Why are you- Why are.. are..?" Smith distances himself away from Thomas, shocked by how he woke up.

"You uh.. Got really drunk last night.. Said some things, yeah.." Thomas sputtered awkwardly, thinking over his current situation.

"Smith, I'll uh, just leave for now ok? Tell Jones and Brown I said good morning." Thomas got up and walked away from the stunned Smith.

_God today is going to be weird.. There's now four days til Christmas, so I better get Brown his scarf, Jones his boots, and Smith his picture frame. _

Thomas went to the same store he'd gone to before, where he got the tree and the decorations from. On the way there he found Agent Jackson.

"Hey Jackson," Thomas approached him, moving more sluggishly than usual. "sorry about everything man. After December, things should be back to normal. Johnson hasn't caused any problems for you and Thompson, has he?

"No." Jackson looked toward him, confused as to what's gotten into his fellow agent.

"I'll be on my way then, still though, sorry if we've caused you any problems. Speaking of, tell Johnson I'm sorry on the behalf of all of us." Thomas was back on his way to the department store, not wanting to talk to Jackson anymore.

Thomas didn't bother to look at the beauty of the shop, he just wasn't in the mood.

He found what seemed like the perfect scarf for Brown, the boots he thinks Jones would've wanted, and a picture frame that Smith wouldn't mind.

"Hey!" The lady from the last time he came to the shop greeted him.

Thomas sighed, and handed the woman the cash.

"Something wrong today sir?"

He didn't feel like talking. He took his stuff and walked out of the store and walked home.

Thomas stood there in front of the door for a moment, realizing he was in broad daylight, and everyone would see what he bought. So, he manipulated the Matrix. Now he's in his room, the gifts are wrapped, and in his closet.

He heard a knock on his door, but didn't get up to answer it. Smith came in his room, god he didn't want to see him after last-night.

"Ander-Thomas.." Smith corrected himself, "I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to make you upset." He looked towards the floorboards in shame.

"You don't have to apologize, sorry, I'm just acting like a teenage girl." He came so close to giving away his surprise, but restrained himself. "-This month just has been weird. Brown gets hurt, this happens, I'm.. We're all a mess."

Smith walked toward him, "I know this probably wont help, but.. Hug..? You've said they help."

Thomas accepted Smith's hug. Agents have feelings too.

_**December 24th, 4:00pm**_

_It's so close to Christmas. My plan should work out for me. I just have to get them away from here for a while. Maybe they could all go out somewhere? Just the three of them? _

"Hey uh, Smith, I have an idea; What if you, Brown, and Jones went out to eat or to go somewhere together?" He cleared his throat, "It's been a while since it's been just you three."

Smith and Jones glanced over at him from the table, wondering what he was getting at.

"Sure!" Brown didn't skip a beat, getting up as best as he could and setting up a deal for what they could do tonight.

After an hour of planning, the three left to that fancy restaurant the Twins always go to.

Thomas set up the tree in the living space, next to the couch, directly in the middle of the room. He put on the lights first, carefully adjusting them to each branch. He put on the garland, doing the same as he did with the lights. Except this time he tried not to accidentally cover them. When he finished it, it looked like a snake, strangling a raccoon's tail. The ornaments were placed at random, being the same blue, yellow, green, and red colors as the lights.

He put up the stockings on the wall behind the tree, since they lacked a fire-place. Finally, he placed the wrapped presents under the tree. Now all he had to do was wait for his partners to return.

_**December 24th, 11:00pm **_

Finally, the three were home. They were greeted by Thomas, who stood in front of the door.

"Hey! Hopefully you guys had a good night. And hopefully a similarly good day tomorrow! Just keep your eyes closed for me until you get to your rooms. I have a surprise tomorrow morning." He led each of them to their rooms. Once he was alone, he hopped in bed and dreamt about the usual things. Sugar plums, fairies, yada yada.

_**CHRISTMAS DAY **_

Thomas leapt out out of bed, not caring about changing out of his night ware, he knocked on Smith and Brown's door. Brown and Jones have been staying in the same room since he had broken his leg.

When they all came out, Thomas jumped up, saying, "Merry Christmas!" the excitement flowing through every inch of his veins.

"I've been planning this since November. It's been so hard trying to keep this a secret from you all, I just wanted this to be special and a lot of unfortunate things have happened this month, and god this is such a relief for today to he here already. Anyways," he picked up the gift's and handed them to the correct recipient, "open 'em!"

All three of them opened their gifts at the same time. Each of them being equally as excited about their gift. Brown was happy he didn't have to be as cold anymore, Jones was happy he could actually walk outside in the snow, and Smith.. Smith was just happy. He never really had documentation about the people he cared about most, but here they are. Inside of a picture frame.

Let's just say, the biggest hug was shared that day.

_**New Years Eve, 11:58pm**_

It'll officially be a year since he'd been an agent. Thomas couldn't believe it already has been that long. God, they've been through a lot. And he loved them all for it.

Over the T.V., the announcers were counting down until the new year.

5

4

3

2

1..

Happy New Year!

As always, the tradition has to be kept up! Jones pulled Brown in for a kiss after the count down ended at 12, and Smith did the same with Thomas.

The new year will be good, and he knows it.


End file.
